Dancing Partners
by Toofdap
Summary: A School Dance, Remus and Sirius. What else could you need apart from a bit of jealousy? Pairing: RemusSirius. Warnings: Slash. Work in progress


Dancing partners

_Archive_: Padfoot...Snuffles SBRL, Azkaban's Lair (if Nezad wants it), Meant to Be, _Summary_: A School Dance, Remus and Sirius. What else could you need apart from a bit of jealousy?  
_Pairing_:Remus / Sirius, who else!  
_Disclaimer_: All characters etc belong to JK Rowling - I just 'borrow' them from time-to-time  
_Author's Notes_: MWPP era / denotes Sirius' thoughts.  
_Feedback_: is more than welcome at

_"I liked this first chapter. It reminded me HP4 cause I just saw it (with the dancing, of course ). But I really don't think James would react like that ! James, love you TT Poor thing _

Sirius and Remus are cute ! But I think Sirius isn't very interesting... (he didn't react, and all). I hope he will be (or he is not Sirius !). Remus is great. And James... then, I told you what I think (Babou)

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Standing at the entrance, watching all the couples making their way into the Great Hall, Sirius was hoping his dance partner would appear soon. Just as the music for the opening dance was starting up, he finally caught sight of a figure running down the corridor towards him, dress robes flapping behind him. Skidding to a halt in front a him, a very out of breath Remus caught Sirius' eye.  
"What kept you? Lily came down here an hour ago, and she had all that make up to do."  
"I had to lose Peter first. He doesn't know we're, you know. He insisted on following me down, so I hid in the Library for half an hour to lose him."  
"We'd better hurry, otherwise we'll miss the next dance. It'll be easier if we go in just as James and Lily finish the head student's opening dance."

They stood next to the door, just out of sight to anyone who was looking out of them, until the first dance ended, then entered the room quietly. They had never been anywhere together before, and we both more than a little unsure of how the school would react to their relationship. Nobody appeared to notice their entrance, so they made their way to the bar, ordering a butterbeer each. They had to steady their nerves: both wanted to dance, but they were worried about their friend's reactions. Relationships like theirs weren't classed as 'normal', but there was less of a taboo surrounding the subject now than just five years ago.

As they were standing at the bar, Sirius was approached by a group of girls asking if he wanted the next dance. Remus' face flushed red as Sirius explained he would be meeting his dancing partner later. Putting his hand to his cheek, Remus realised just how fiercely he had been blushing, and dashed off to the toilets to calm down: for his first proper 'date' with Sirius, he didn't want to look like a lobster.  
Sirius declined a further dance offer from a tall skinny Gryffindor fourth year, and out of the corner of his eye, caught sight of Remus dashing away. Concerned for him, Sirius followed, wondering where he was heading. As Sirius tried to follow Remus, he kept getting asked for dances by the Gryffindor (and even some Slytherin) girls. Finally managing to give them the slip, he opened the door to the toilets, and found Remus splashing cold water onto his face.  
"You ok Moony?"  
Remus looked up, shocked at the voice, but relaxed a little when he realised it was Sirius. "Yeah, I'm just a little, well, frustrated."  
Sirius moved a little closer, and lowered his voice so no-one else could hear them. "How come?"  
"Well, everyone else is out there dancing, and there we are, just standing there. It doesn't seem fair that James and Lily can show everyone what their true feelings are for each other, when we're having to keep everything secret."  
Sirius put his arm around Remus' shoulder. "They're playing some jazz at the moment - that's dances without partners. Come on, lets at least start with that."  
They walked back from the toilets and onto the dance floor. "At least this is a start, Rem" called Sirius, who was starting to get out of breath already. He hadn't bargained for the stamina of Remus, who seemed to be able to dance without getting out of breath at all. Looking at Remus more closely, Sirius realised just how good a dancer he was.  
/He is a really good mover. I hope he doesn't show me up too much. He looks really fit actually... those dress robes really show off those muscular arms of his./  
As the jazz music drew to a close, Sirius made to walk off the dance floor, but Remus shot a warning glance at him, which clearly said 'we're here to dance, and dance we will', so Sirius remained on the dance floor.

Five songs later, Sirius managed to persuade Remus that it was time they had a break, and they had left the dance floor just in time for Sirius to collapse into a chair on the edge of the hall. "OK?" asked Remus, who didn't look much out of breath.  
"Yeah," gasped Sirius, "I'm just not used to all this."  
Remus sat down beside him, "we'll sit this one out then."  
They sat the following two songs out, laughing as Peter tried dancing with a Hufflepuff girl who was at least a foot taller than him. He could hardly reach her shoulder to put his hand on her as they danced.

----

Sirius and Remus were soon back on the dance floor, jiving away to every tune that was being played. At the beginning of the penultimate song, the headmaster had announced there would be a prize for the best dance couple on the floor that evening, which would be announced just before the final dance. Remus and Sirius didn't really pay much attention to that, as they knew no one would pick them as the best couple - it would obviously be James and Lily who would get the title and the prize.  
As the penultimate dance drew to a close, the headmaster stood up at the front of the hall, and motioned for everyone to pay attention as he announced the winners.  
"It has not been easy," he announced across the expectant dance floor, "to find just one couple worthy of this title. You have all danced remarkably well, and for this I applaud you." Once the teachers and students had finished applauding, he held up a hand and continued, "but one couple I have found to be dancing with such chemistry, it is obvious they have very strong feeling for each other. So please can the couple I am about to announce come up to the front of the hall, where they will lead us in the final dance."  
Everyone in the hall waited with baited breath as the headmaster drew a deep breath to announce the winners.  
"So the winning couple is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin!"

There was a murmur of dissent across the dance floor, with everyone thinking that the headmaster had got it wrong. Sirius hadn't been paying too much attention, and it was only Remus who seemed to have taken in what the head master had said.  
"Come on then," the headmaster called, "Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, up here please."

This time, Sirius had been paying attention, and Remus nudged him to walk up to the front. They could feel confused stares at them as they walked towards the headmaster who gave them a small wink as they approached. Facing them to the front, so everyone could see their faces, the headmaster called "I give you the best dancing couple of this ball, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. They will lead us in the final dance, and there will be a special award given to them afterwards."  
The headmaster lead the applause, and soon all the teachers and many students were joining in. Remus looked at Sirius and raised an eyebrow.  
"Well, we wanted to be 'normal' didn't we Paddy."

As the music for the final dance started, Remus put his arm on Sirius' shoulder, and Sirius slowly put his arm on Remus' shoulder. "How do you dance to this?" Sirius whispered.  
"Just move very slowly, it's like a hug but you're moving to the music," Remus replied.  
They moved clumsily, both a little unsure about how everyone would react to their dancing, as neither of them thought they were good at the slow dances. They didn't need to worry, however, as soon everyone in the Great Hall had joined them, and Remus was pleased to see that James and Lily were tripping over each other's feet a bit more than himself and Sirius had been.

As the final chords drew the room to a halt, Remus looked into Sirius' eyes. "Thanks for the dance love, you were super."  
Knowing full well that the entire room were looking at them once more, Remus moved his head closer to Sirius' and they melted into a kiss. Remus knew his face was burning red again, but he didn't mind, and with each extra second of the kiss, his blushing was disappearing.  
To several whoops and cheers, they finally broke the kiss, gasping for air.

The headmaster held up his hand to call for silence. "Well done, Remus and Sirius! Now then, the matter of your prize. It's a candlelit dinner for two in a s pecial room. I'm sure it will meet to your every requirement." On the final word, he gave them a strong wink, then called the assembled students to make their way back to their dorms. Before Remus and Sirius could leave the hall, however, the headmaster called them back, "Remus, Sirius, a word if you please."  
"I just want to say I know how much courage that has taken tonight. That is one reason why we decided you were to be the couple of the evening. Also, you have such chemistry between you, even though, I may guess, you have never danced together before?"  
"Never sir" replied Remus, "this was our first, um , well date I guess."  
The headmaster grinned as he continued, "some may say that I am completely mad, but I am pleased for both of you. You are a great match, and I hope you enjoy your prize on Saturday night."

Remus and Sirius left the great hall elated. If the headmaster had seen their relationship growing before today, then they must be accepted in the school as a whole. The only other bit they had to sort that evening was the reactions of James Peter and Lily. Cautiously they approached their dorm, where the door was left ajar slightly. Sirius quietly pushed the door open, only to be jumped on by James who was lurking behind the door. Remus poked his head round the door, and was shocked to see Sirius being pinned to the ground by James, his wand pointing straight at Sirius' head.

"You." James spat, "are a poofter, and as such, I don't know if we want you in this dorm at all."  
Remus flinched at the word 'poofter', and gripped hold of his wand, drawing it from his pocket.  
"You and Remus," continued James, "have no right to live on this earthy, let alone remain friends with us. You're just disgusting wankers."  
Remus had heard enough, and opened the door a little wider. Thankful for the lessons in non-verbal spells, he disarmed James, and put a body binding hex on him.  
"What is going on in here?" Remus asked as he entered, even though he knew full well. He removed the spell from James' mouth, so he could reply.

"You two. You're disgusting." James replied.  
"In what way?" asked Remus, his wand still at the ready.  
"You're unnatural."  
Remus helped Sirius to his feet, and moved even closer to James, their heads almost touching. Drawing breath, he kept his voice low, so Sirius was straining to hear the words. "I would have thought that after you seemed to accept the fact that I am a werewolf, you would be ready to accept anything. Especially as the headmaster has just given us the rest of our prize."  
At this, his voice became quieter, and Sirius couldn't hear anything except a faint murmur.  
"And you, James, I thought were mature enough to realise that when two friends, like maybe you and Lily, have those feelings for each other, that it takes an enormous amount of bravery and courage, something that as Gryffindors we should have, to even consider going to the dance in the first place. Think of all those girls that Sirius declined to dance with, and how few girls you had asking you for a dance. You're jealous aren't you. You wanted all the attention, and to be awarded the title of best dancing couple with Lily." At this, Remus saw James flinch.

"OK, so you're jealous, but let me tell you something, and I'm not proud of it. At the start of the dance, me and Sirius came in late on purpose so no one would see us together. He was asked to dance by all those girls, and I had to leave the room. I ended up crying in the toilets."  
He looked James right in the eyes,  
"yes, crying. I was frustrated that we couldn't display our affection for each other in the same way that you and Lily can. That we had to stand there looking like we weren't a couple, just because we didn't know how everyone else would react.  
I half expected someone to be squicked by us, but I really didn't think it would be someone as _mature_ as you."

Remus moved away again, walking over towards Sirius. "Come on, Sir, let's sleep in the common room tonight."  
James watched them leave the room, his head swimming with conflicting thoughts.


End file.
